Food warnings 'trivialise dangers'

The number of warnings about allergies which appear on food labels is effectively playing down dangers faced by those who suffer from such allergies, a campaigner has stated.

Hazel Gowland, from the Anaphylaxis Campaign, has said that the profusion of warnings may actually lead younger consumers to ignore them.

One child in 50 in the UK now has a nut allergy according to the Anaphylaxis Campaign.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's You & Yours, Ms Gowland said: "If you go and look at all the biscuits in a supermarket and every single packet says 'may contain traces of nuts' people begin to say that it cannot carry all that risk and so we don't believe them anymore.

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"Younger consumers in particular really think that this is a cop out and manufacturers do not know what they are doing."

Many adults and young children are allergic to other foods besides nuts, including fish, eggs, milk, kiwis and sesame, Ms Gowland added.

Meanwhile, Ofcom has instituted a ban on advertising foods high in fat and sugar during children's TV programmes.

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